The United States has called upon the Federal Government of Nigeria to focus on investing in agriculture as a crucial strategy to address the ongoing food crisis and hunger affecting the nation.
David Greene, the US Charge d’Affaires in Nigeria, emphasized the importance of leveraging the country’s abundant agricultural potential to enhance food security and accelerate socio-economic development, including job creation.
He made these remarks during a visit to the 15,000-hectare Agbeyewa Farms in Ipao Ekiti, Ikole Council area of Ekiti State, which is a private initiative by Cavista Holdings.
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Greene encouraged Nigeria to capitalize on its vast arable lands, fertile soil, and favourable weather conditions to not only meet the food needs of its citizens but also to explore opportunities for agricultural exports.
He commended Agbeyewa Farms for its significant contributions to large-scale agriculture, highlighting the potential impact such investments could have in transforming the lives of Nigerians for the better.
“We are aware of the food security challenge and the post-harvest losses in Nigeria. With Investments and leadership like this, I think the lives of a lot of Nigerians can be changed for the better.
“We know that agriculture in Nigeria has lots of incredible potential. The US will do a lot in the sector of course, but I can’t say precisely what we might do in the future. We got investments in Ikun Diary Farms, cocoa production in Ekiti, and the rest.
“USAID sees the future and is offering a lot across board to the Nigerian producers collaborating with donors including the World Bank and others. With the kind of economic innovation we see here, we need to work together with the people of Nigeria to benefit the people,” he said.
John Olajide, the Chairman of Cavista Holdings, reiterated the company’s commitment to investing in agribusiness to ensure food sufficiency, improve nutrition, create employment opportunities, and foster community development.
Olajide emphasized the farm’s focus on crops such as cassava, maize, and yam, with plans underway to launch the cassava revolution project in collaboration with the Ekiti State Government.
This project aims to address the rising demand for cassava chips in the export market while reducing post-harvest losses by at least 60 percent.
He said, “Agbeyewa Farm is meant to create value and transform lives. The main reason why we invested in Ekiti State is to create jobs and opportunities for a lot of people.
“We are doing experiments here with cassava to help farmers improve their yields. Those seedlings were given to the farmers to improve their lives, and we incorporated the farmers into our outgrowers in our farm to cover up to 10 hectares and get better yield.
“One important thing is farmers struggle with access to the market. We’re working on the early stage of the cassava revolution project in partnership with the state government, where we will get at least 100 hectares of cassava cultivated in the state.
“It will reduce the over 60 per cent post-harvest loss, our goal is to eliminate post-harvest loss so that Ekiti farmers can create wealth through farming,” he added.
